Venezuelan Poodle Moth

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and this moth has it all!…

The Venezuelan Poodle moth was first captured on film by Dr. Arthur Anker of Bishkek, Krgyzstan in 2009. Dr Anker's photographs on flickr went unnoticed until recently.

Could this be a new species?

The first thing to emphasize is that the poodle moth is no phony concoction like the jackalope, dogerpillar or chupacabra. Its cute, furry, scary look is totally in line with what's expected for a neotropical ornamental moth. In fact, cryptozoologist Karl Shuker found a similar picture of a white, fuzzy critter known as Diaphora mendica, or muslin moth, a member of the lepidopteran family Arctiidae.

The Venezuelan poodle moth is even more bizarre-looking than your run-of-the-mill muslin moth.

What is interesting about this particular moth is that scientists are currently trying to figure out exactly what type of moth it is (its phylogeny). Needless to say, the image of this fluffy moth has gone viral and this adorable little insect is making the headlines.